Don’t Stretch Your Routine

While you will be told by many that bodybuilding involves spending rigorous hours of training at the gym, it actually is not quite true. An hour a day is just about fine. Your bodybuilding workout routine should fall anywhere between 45 and 75 minutes. You can start with a shorter routine but work your way up over time. However, you should understand that the amount of time you put in the gym is not directly proportional to the amount of lean muscle mass that you gather. When we exercise our bodies release muscle building and fat burning hormones such as testosterone. However the level of such hormones being released in our body sharply reduces after around 75 minutes. Pushing your body beyond that time would only mean that you are risking yourself to injury and not much else.

Don’t Relax

To many of you, 60 or 75 minutes of workout might sound a bit too little. But you must remember that you can gain significant time by cutting down on the rest you take between two sets of exercises. In fact, you should try to keep the rest period down to 90 seconds between two sets. There are quite a few positives if you do so. First of all, it allows you to have more time to finish your entire workout within the stipulated 60 or 75 minutes. Secondly, cutting down on the rest break improves your cardiovascular system greatly. It learns to handle more pressure and you make significant gains on your stamina. Thirdly, it has also been suggested that a training with very short rest breaks helps in stimulating the output of our growth hormones, crucial to build lean muscle mass.

Keep Things Under Control

Once you know for sure exactly what you are looking for through your bodybuilding workout routine you will decide on the number of repetitions that you need to do for each set. The general wisdom is that you should do at least 8-15 repetitions if you are only looking at gaining muscle mass. However, if you want that perfect body with every part of your body being exactly what it should be, then you will need to do anywhere between 15 and 25 repetitions of each set. There are quite a few advantages in doing repetitions of each set.

First of all, when you undertake to do so many repetitions it is obvious that you will be working with weights that you can handle. The result is that there is a far lesser chance of getting injured this way. With too heavy a weight you will not be able to do so many repetitions.

Secondly, with these numbers of repetitions you allow your muscles to receive the maximum amount of blood. When you are exercising the cardiovascular system springs into action and makes sure that there is enough blood reaching the parts which are under the most stress. Blood is sent to these parts to carry nutrients that are vital to nourish the muscle cells. The nutrients help the muscle cells to recover and aid them to grow bigger.

Thirdly, research has shown that performing bodybuilding exercises in these repetition ranges allows for the maximum fat loss and gain in muscle mass, the most important criteria for bodybuilding.

Add Variety

However good your bodybuilding workout routine is, you must add variations to it as otherwise not only will you get bored of it and lose focus, but it will also not help you in gaining muscle. With no muscle growth, the purpose of exercising is lost. So it is suggested that you change your routine after every 3-4 weeks. This way you will stay focused and will also gain on muscles.

That’s one of the many sweet catch phrases you can hear on the late night infomercials and fitness magazine headlines. Abdominal training information and gadgets are everywhere, yet very few people possess that dreamy 6-pack. Walk into any gym and you will see countless members tearing away at every possible ab exercise known to man. With so much ab training taking place, why do so many people still have distended bellies, rolls, and pouches? Is it an information overload, or simply an overload of misinformation?

Getting that tight midsection takes desire, commitment, and work. As you’ve come to realize, it takes more than daily crunches to get an etched 6-pack. Let’s review a few of the important, and perhaps sometimes overlooked, aspects of acquiring 6 pack abs.

Nutrition is Everything for 6-Pack Abs

Nutrition is the key factor in developing a visible 6-pack abdominal area. Not only is what you eat important, but also the quality of the food you eat. For a sexy midsection you should be eating a high protein diet with moderate carbs and some essential fats. Your body is a unit and it needs nutrients from all the macronutrients.

A variety of chicken, turkey, fish, steak, and eggs, are wonderful complete protein sources to build muscle. Brown rice, baked and sweet potatoes, and oats make great complex carbohydrates to fuel activities. You can get some good fat from your complete protein, but it doesn’t hurt to eat quality fats either, such as various nuts and seeds, avocados, natural peanut butter, flaxseed oil, etc.

Generally, breads, pastas, and dairy won’t help define a tight midsection. These items can bloat you and make definition a blur.

Establish a base caloric intake with balanced macronutrients. Whatever you plan out, follow it through entirely for a week to see how it worked for you. Make changes based on updated status results. This can mean anything from a carb deduction, protein increase, or even changing your calorie intake.

Water is an Essential Element for 6-Pack Abs

Being dehydrated can make fat loss difficult. Hydration is an overlooked factor for 90% of the people trying to lose fat. Keeping your body properly hydrated removes toxins and flushes out sodium and fat. Water also nourishes the organs, rejuvenates your metabolism, and curbs your appetite. Not only does water flush the rubbish from your body, but it also hydrates the muscles and improves muscle definition, giving you better workouts. Properly hydrated and developed muscle burns more calories.

Cardio Exercise for 6-Pack Abs

Although cardio itself won’t produce those wanted 6-pack abs, it will help burn off fat stores if it’s coupled with a balanced eating plan. You need to be doing some type of cardio to help expose your abs.

If you aren’t currently doing cardio, begin by adding HIIT four times a week for 20 minutes and increase your time by five minutes each week.

If you are currently doing 6 days of cardio at 45-60 minutes and seeing little results, then you need to cut your cardio back and rebuild it.

Other ways to break through a cardio plateau is to change your cardio type, ratio, intensity, etc.

Training Your Abs

Training your abs doesn’t need to be rocket science and you don’t need 20 different ab exercises for countless reps either. The idea is to simply stimulate the muscle. The key factor is quality, not quantity.

Generally, the abs can be trained every other day. However, if you are still sore after two days or more, that’s a key sign that your abs still need to recover. You won’t make any progress without proper abdominal recovery.

Ab training tips:

Begin your training with the stomach vacuum. This is an exercise you can implement anywhere, the gym, home, driving, etc. It’s simply sucking in your stomach as hard as you can, for as long as you can, without holding your breath.

Add resistance to your crunches. Adding weight to your abdominal training won’t make your waist thicker. It will help build the abs stronger.

Avoid leg raises, as they are useless for lower ab training. Leg raises target the hip flexors. If you want to train the lower abdominal area, you are better off doing the lying pelvic lift.

Don’t do any side bends or twists. These can thicken your waist, weighted or not.

Conclusion of 6-Pack Abs

Now that you have some of the fundamentals of how to zone in on developing a 6-pack, you can better utilize your time and training techniques when you engage in ab training. Keep nutrition clean and balanced, stay well hydrated, do your cardio, and train your abs every other day. With these tips, you can better carve a sleek and sexy midsection.

Whether at home or at the health club, more and more people are gravitating toward exercises that focus on overall fitness more than strict bodybuilding. There are plenty of devices and machines that can help you to do that, but one of the best ways to go about achieving overall health and fitness is with the use of a rowing machine. And, highlighting that category of exercise equipment is the Concept 2 Rower.

If you make your way to fitness centers and gyms that put a premium cardio equipment you are sure to find one version or another of the Concept 2 Rower. This is absolutely one of the best machines at actually simulating the actual full-body movement that one would engage in during true life rowing.

If you try one out, you’ll witness, first hand, all the wonderful features that this rowing machine offers. First, with its PM3 or PM4 monitor, you can use many of the preset programs or make one of your own. Among other things, you can track you speed, distance, time, pace, and any number of other features that might interest you.

But across the board, the features that have consumers pleased as punch are all those that make the experience quite close to that of actual rowing. The smooth rowing action allows you to incorporate the use of your arms, back, shoulders and legs, as if you were on the water. The seat glides back and forth easily, allowing you to maintain a smooth rhythm throughout your routine.

One of the other advantages of getting a workout on a Concept 2 rower is that you are able to involve the vast majority of your muscles in the movement, while getting an incredible cardiovascular workout. The chain-driven action has ten levels, which allow you to adjust the resistance according to your own physical demands. You’ll find that by working your way up to just 30 minutes of rowing, you’ll achieve an incredible overall conditioning workout.

Many people are so taken with the proficiency and ease of use of the Concept 2 rower, that they are getting them for home use as well. They don’t take up much space at all — perfect for those that simply cannot find enough room for other exercise equipment. The machine is light enough to be able to move to one side of the room when you have completed your workout. You’ll pay in the neighborhood of $1,000.00, depending on offers and discounts, but that is far less than what you would pay for a combination of weights and other cardio machines.

You really can’t go wrong with this type of set up, either at the gym or at home. So if you are at the fitness club, opt for this way of working out and save time while exercising the whole body. If at home, save money, space and time and get a great workout in the process.

When you think of losing weight, does the image of choking down raw carrots and celery followed by a tall glass of water come to mind?

Dieting does not have to be this way. You can create and follow an easy diet plan that is suited to your needs. You do not want to starve yourself, and risk losing your focus in everyday life. In fact, you will find that these types of diets only result in loss of muscle mass, not the fat loss you want.

An easy weight loss plan can consist of many different types of food. The trick is to eat them in moderation. Obviously, you cannot gorge yourself on fried food and still achieve the weight loss goals you have set for yourself.

The success of any plan for losing weight relies on your determination. Setting weight loss goals is good, but if you set your goals too high, and cannot attain them, you will ultimately fail. It is better to set smaller goals, then once you achieve them set new goals for yourself. As you see yourself achieving these goals, you will be much more determined to continue with your plan because you have tasted success.

Medical experts believe that no matter the type of food that you eat, you need to take your time in eating it. This gives your body the time it needs to recognize when your stomach is full. Often, when you are using this easy weight loss method you will find yourself leaving the table with food still on your plate.

A lot of people who are overweight do not plan their meals. They pick up dinner on their way home either at a fast food place or a convenience store. This leads to poor dietary habits and ultimately weight gain.

Planning your menu for the week and then shopping for it is the optimum healthy diet method that will not only help you lose weight, you will also feel and look better.

You have heard all of your life, “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” it really is. When you eat breakfast, your metabolic rate is kicked into high gear for the rest of the day. Studies have shown that people who eat breakfast every day achieve and sustain their weight loss goals more often than those who do not eat breakfast.

Consulting your physician with your weight loss concerns will alleviate any stress you may feel about starting a new routine to lose weight.

Cardio exercise is not the fastest fat loss workout. In fact, in my weight loss workouts, we don’t use cardio at all. Instead, we focus on strength training to get more results in less time. Here’s how…

In order to lose fat fast, you need to choose the best exercises. Surprisingly, cardio is not the best. Not even close. Cardio just takes too much time and doesn’t deliver a better body. You are better off doing strength training to sculpt your muscles, and interval training to burn the fat. Fat burning is a misunderstood process. It doesn’t just happen during your workout. It happens all the time…so you need to boost your metabolism with strength and intervals to rev your body’s metabolism and burn fat all the time.

Here’s how to do the best, and fastest, fat loss workout.

First, we want to start with our time-saving general warmup. We use bodyweight exercises to improve mobility, and better prepare the muscles and the joints of the body for total body training than an inefficient warm-up method such as “walking on the treadmill”.

We’ll need to pick at least two exercises to train as many muscles as possible. I always choose a squat variation and a pushup variation – but rarely do I use just the basics. Do each exercise for about 10 reps, without resting between each, and then repeat 2-3 times. That takes 3-5 minutes.

Now we move on to the strength training portion, doing 2-3 supersets of multi-muscle movements. We also do 2 specific warmup sets for the exercises in superset #1.

Here’s how a workout might go…

Superset #1

1A) Squat exercise (8 reps)

move without rest to…

1B) Rowing exercise (8 reps)

Rest 1 minute and repeat the superset 2 more times.

2A) Hamstring focused exercise (8 reps)

move without rest to…

2B) Pressing exercise (8 reps)

Rest 1 minute and repeat the superset 2 more times.

If you are really rushed for time, that’s all the strength training needed. If you have extra time, you can add a third superset for torso training, more leg work, or more upper body work. Depends on what you need.

Then we finish with interval training. A full interval training workout needs about 18 minutes. Five minutes for warm-up, 6 intervals of 30-60 seconds alternating with 60-90 seconds of low-intensity activity. Finish with a 5-minute cool-down and stretch the tight muscle groups only.

All done in 45 minutes. Do these workouts on 3 times per week.

Making more time for other things in life,

Has all the money, time and effort spent in the gym been a waste of time? Have you still not gotten the kind of results that you expect- that you deserve? Well that’s because most of what you have heard and learnt about how to build muscle up is dead WRONG! A lot of build muscle tips and tips to build muscle are actually doing you more damage than good.

However today with my simple 3 step muscle building guide, you will right your wrongs and actually start to get close to that beach body you desperately desire.

Ok, so here are the 3 build muscle tips that you must know if you want to build muscle.

1. Make sure you do your cardio. A lot of trainers preach that weight training is just as good as cardio for keeping your heart and lungs in good shape. However weight training, designed for body building, is actually almost completely useless for enhancing your cardiovascular system. In fact weight training is about as good as sitting watching TV all day for your cardio system. Furthermore don’t listen to all the trainers who believe that cardio will make it much harder to build muscle. In fact a cardio workout speeds up your recovery and is vital for building maximum muscle gain. Cardio is a crucial aspect in this muscle building guide.

2. Spending too much time training your biceps and triceps. Most people want to have bulging biceps and triceps so that’s the only thing they work on. The point that they miss is that your biceps and triceps are much smaller than your back, chest, shoulders, thighs etc. By focusing on your majority muscle groups, you will find that building your arm muscles (biceps and triceps) will become much easier.

3. Focus on getting stronger. A lot of people ask for tips to build muscle. Instead of just trying to become more ripped and muscular, focus your efforts on getting much stronger. Then in turn you will actually get much more ripped and muscular. When you become stronger you will be able to perform more reps, lift more, recover quicker and have better technique. Then in turn, you will have the big muscles to show for it.

Now that you have read my muscle building guide and my 3 special build muscle tips you are much closer to your ideal body. Remember and apply these tips and you will be building muscle like never before.

Discovering the Benefits of a Muscle Building Diet

Many have discovered the benefits from a muscle building diet and how effective it is for getting into great physical shape. This kind of a diet is not so much about losing weight but losing fat. It is a re-proportioning of the body’s weight so to speak. Lose the fat and increase your strength is the main focus for this kind of regimen.

Effective for Young or Older

It does not matter if you are 16 or 60 a muscle building diet can be effective getting into shape. This is accomplished through a combination of aerobic and anaerobic exercise. This of course is strengthened by a sensible diet. The aerobic aspect will burn fat and the anaerobic aspect will build muscle. Paired with a sensible diet plan the body can be supplied with healthy nutrition. It only takes moderate amount of commitment and determination to consistently complete the program. About 3 days per week and an hour and half is all that is needed to produce outstanding results in about 90 days.

Long Term Benefits

Beginning a muscle building diet will produce a host of long term health and performance benefits. Consistent anaerobic training will increase muscle mass as well as strengthen individual muscles. No form of exercise burns more calories then anaerobic strength training. Without strength training the muscles only begin to atrophy and lose strength over time. This trend is almost immediately reversed when a strength training routine begins. Strength training is progressive resistance training which strengthens the muscles, tendons and bones. Improved bone density results from the progressive resistance placed on muscles and tendons.

Progressive Results

When beginning a muscle building diet always start off on the low end of the weight scale. You can always increase more weight as you become comfortable handling it. By beginning on the low end you will also prevent and reduce the chance of straining or injuring muscles. The term progressive resistance means making improvements by increment, not in leaps. If you are beginning a strength training program for the first time in a long time proceed with caution on weight selection. Those with an above average strength level going in will use starting weights that are higher then those with below average strength. Ask the professional trainer at the club or studio to assist you in weight selection when in doubt.

Summary

A muscle building diet has a lot of benefits to offer those with the discipline and motivation to engage in it. Age is not a barrier for anyone with the desire to improve their strength, endurance and physical condition. Consuming about 30% of your calories in good lean protein will also give your muscles the protein they need to become toned. Eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables while cutting back on the sweets will help to burn more fat. By using the combination of aerobic and anaerobic exercise, while eating healthy, will not only burn fat but get you into the best shape of your life.

Fat burning has been the most integral part in losing weight and staying fit. Fat burning tips are everywhere to guide you on your mission to shed off those extra inches from your waistline. Most people are too concerned about losing weight without knowing how to properly do it. The main point of losing weight is to lose fat and build muscles for muscles are active tissues and they burn fat relatively faster.

A lot of people think that going on a diet and/or depriving yourself of food intake is the key to lose weight. This is definitely not true, what makes you overweight in the first place are your excess and bad eating habits as well as your lack of exercise. The decision to change for a better lifestyle is the best way for us to envision our fat loss plans. Food is synonymous to energy, that is why we become energized when we eat. The thing is if we burn less amount of energy in comparison to the amount we take in then chances are we will be gaining weight. Thus, in order for us to get started with the right way to burn fat, here are a few fat burning tips that you can follow.

The most vital among all fat burning tips is for you to watch what you eat. Adjust your food intake and make sure to reduce on your calories. The best way for this is to reduce your salt intake since if this is combined with fat may promote water retention in your body causing you to gain weight. Another tip is for you to learn how to control your eating habits. Most of us don’t want to sleep on an empty stomach but we must all learn to not take anything at least two hours before we sleep. Eating before going to bed will just make you gain weight since you don’t require much energy during slumber.

Proper exercise is also one of the major fat burning tips you need to heed to get your objective. Exercise promotes metabolism allowing you to burn fat instead of having it stored. There are a lot of exercises that you can do that will surely speed up your metabolism such as walking, jogging, swimming, climbing and a lot more. The main idea again behind every workout is to utilize as many muscle groups as possible because the more muscle you use the more chances that you will be burning more amount of fat. Moreover, it has been proven by a lot of wellness experts that the more regular an individual exercises, the faster the results will be and the longevity of the results will be magnificent as well.

Follow these fat burning tips and you will surely be headed towards that slim and fit body. Always keep in mind that these tips will go well with the proper diet. Add two major ingredients as well which are discipline and consistency and you surely will go a long way.

The best cardio exercise for weight loss is not slow, boring cardio. Instead, to maximize fat burning and your metabolism, you need to do intervals. This form of cardio wil burn fat and help you lose weight faster than ever.

Q: I know intervals are great, but is it ever beneficial to do longer workouts of moderate intensity cardio? Is this what beginners should do?

Answer:

Good question.

I think that the more fat a person has, the more they will simply benefit from any type of exercise. Therefore, even low-intensity work will help.

However, two things to consider before we just send everyone out for 60 minute jogs and cardio sessions.

1) Is the individual physically prepared for high-volume exercise?

Unfortunately, I’ve seen my share of clients that decided to jump back into fitness with long cardio workouts. Soon enough they were asking me to help rehab their injuries…whether they were small muscles strains or more serious overuse injuries.

So you always have to make sure that the individuals are physically prepared for the exercise program – which is why my training programs include introductory and beginner muscle strengthening phases in combination with exercise that focuses on calorie burning.

Many beginners will have weak muscles – somewhere along the line. So doing dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of repetitions (i.e. longer cardio stuff) can exacerbate small injuries into full-blown injuries. We must always be careful there…that’s one of the reasons that people drop out of exercise programs so frequently.

And that’s why fitness assessments are very important when you are able to work one-on-one with a trainer (or when you are a trainer – make sure you do these!).

2) Efficiency

You can get the same benefits as long cardio in half the time by doing structured interval training instead. So if time is a factor, then intervals rule.

So remember these 4 simple rules for your fat loss program and it will be effective, efficient, balanced, and safe:

1) Strengthen the weak muscles

2) Stretch the tight muscles

3) Burn more calories (through exercise and by boosting your metabolism with resistance training)

4) Improve your nutrition so that you are taking in fewer calories to lose fat, but not dieting so hard that you are messing up your body’s fat-burning hormones.

Cardio works for fat loss, but not the cardio you think. For weight loss, you need to boost your metabolism and fat burning with intervals.

Building muscle with nutrition is not complicated, all you need is some basic knowledge, discipline and consistency. You need to eat a healthy diet every day to get the results you want. Nutrition is sometimes disregarded by weight trainers, but the truth is, if you don’t have a proper muscle building diet you are really limiting the results you are going to get from your training. So I have made a list of some of the rules of building muscle with nutrition. These are some of the most important rules you should follow when you are aiming to gain weight by building muscle.

Now, lets get to it!

1. Try to eat 6 good small meals a day. Eating more meals per day increases the body’s metabolism, gives you a constant flow of energy and reduces the chance of your body storing your food as fat. You need to shy away from the ‘3 meals a day’ mentality, those days have come and gone.

2. Eat protein and complex carbohydrates in every meal. Aim to get about 30 grams of protein and some carbs in each meal. For good quality carbs, stick to whole grains, oats, brown rice and wholemeal bread. Good sources of protein are chicken, egg whites, tuna, red meat and fish.

3. Use some bodybuilding supplements but not to excess. They are a great way to get the nutrients you need to your body fast. I would suggest to start off with whey protein supplements and then I would gradually move onto creatine and glutamine. The best times to take supplements is in the morning, before/after training and before bed.

4. Stay away from fats and excessive salts. However, you do need some fat for a healthy diet. Some things that have good fat are olive oil, peanut butter and fish. Also, drink lots of water, fuel up before you workout and after you workout have a meal/shake, which is an important nutrition boost.

5. If you want to gain weight and put on muscle you need to eat more calories than you burn throughout the day. If you don’t eat enough calories you will not put on any muscle. Its as simple as that, never stay hungry. As soon as you begin to feel hungry eat a meal of carbs and protein. Also before you go to bed get a quality meal of protein and carbs for muscle repairing while you sleep.